“These cranes are more robust than any other brand,” says Piet Hoefnagel, owner of TB Waterwerk in Urk.

Piet Hoefnagel was looking for two marine cranes for a new hybrid workboat to be built. He was no stranger to Heila Cranes, and a phone call was enough to get a quote for both cranes.

The two HLRM 140-4S cranes are equipped with a winch and operated by remote control. Hydraulic knuckle boom cranes from HLRM and HLM series are popular among customers in the towing, fishing and dredging industries. They offer excellent performance, as noted by our customer in his search for suitable cranes for the hybrid workboat, for which he compared several suppliers.

“Heila stood out because their cranes are stronger, more robust and of higher quality. These cranes can handle more cargo; at 14 metres, the crane easily hoists 7,850 kg. In short, a Heila crane fits better on this ship.”

The HLRM cranes are for the hybrid cat, a new-build hybrid work vessel built by Werft Shipbuilding in Urk on behalf of TB Waterwerk. Hybrid means that the vessel’s propulsion is fully electric but has the option to run on diesel. “It is the first of its kind for us, and we will deploy this workboat as a dredging support vessel and to support diving operations when constructing wind farms within our working area in Europe.”

TB Waterworks is a family-owned company operating in Europe since 2004. Its fleet comprises numerous working vessels, crew tenders, pontoons, a tugboat and a survey vessel. Its operations range from transport, waterway maintenance and survey operations to contaminated dredging spoil removal and tug operations in Europe.